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marmar

(77,084 posts) Wed Jul 24, 2013, 10:45 PM Jul 2013

Tea Party Groups In Tennessee Demand Textbooks Overlook U.S. Founder's Slave-Owning History

A little more than a year after the conservative-led state board of education in Texas approved massive changes to its school textbooks to put slavery in a more positive light, a group of Tea Party activists in Tennessee has renewed its push to whitewash school textbooks. The group is seeking to remove references to slavery and mentions of the country's founders being slave owners.

According to reports, Hal Rounds, the Fayette County attorney and spokesman for the group, said during a recent news conference that there has been "an awful lot of made-up criticism about, for instance, the founders intruding on the Indians or having slaves or being hypocrites in one way or another."

"The thing we need to focus on about the founders is that, given the social structure of their time, they were revolutionaries who brought liberty into a world where it hadn't existed, to everybody -- not all equally instantly -- and it was their progress that we need to look at," Rounds said, according to The Commercial Appeal.

During the news conference more than two dozen Tea Party activists handed out material that said, "Neglect and outright ill will have distorted the teaching of the history and character of the United States. We seek to compel the teaching of students in Tennessee the truth regarding the history of our nation and the nature of its government." .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/23/tea-party-tennessee-textbooks-slavery_n_1224157.html

12 replies

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Tea Party Groups In Tennessee Demand Textbooks Overlook U.S. Founder's Slave-Owning History (Original Post) marmar Jul 2013 OP

"Put Slavery in a positive light" - these folks are crazy. Hoyt Jul 2013 #1

Just what we need... historylovr Jul 2013 #2

The truth is too ugly for their beautiful minds. Boomerproud Jul 2013 #3

How embarrassing as a Tennessean! Sissyk Jul 2013 #4

the money quote arely staircase Jul 2013 #5

Slavery just doesn't go well with bringing "liberty" into the world. octoberlib Jul 2013 #6

You mean....white wash history even more than it already is nadinbrzezinski Jul 2013 #7

Anybody care to ask how exboyfil Jul 2013 #8

I apologize for the caps but WHY ARE WE ALLOWING THEM TO DESTROY OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM? liberal_at_heart Jul 2013 #9

Re-writing history with a racist spin sakabatou Jul 2013 #10

Kickin' for the truth! CaliforniaPeggy Jul 2013 #11

K&R liberal_at_heart Jul 2013 #12

Hoyt

(54,770 posts)

1. "Put Slavery in a positive light" - these folks are crazy.

Reply to marmar (Original post)

Wed Jul 24, 2013, 11:07 PM

Jul 2013

They hid that stuff when I was growing up too. Founding fathers were a seedy bunch in many ways, including most were slave owners.

historylovr

(1,557 posts)

2. Just what we need...

Reply to marmar (Original post)

Wed Jul 24, 2013, 11:13 PM

Jul 2013

more 'prettying up' history. And then one day no one will remember, and well, you know the rest.

Boomerproud

(7,955 posts)

3. The truth is too ugly for their beautiful minds.

Reply to marmar (Original post)

Wed Jul 24, 2013, 11:23 PM

Jul 2013

Re-writing history (even recent history) isn't that difficult when the truth-seekers and tellers are silent.

Sissyk

(12,665 posts)

4. How embarrassing as a Tennessean!

Reply to marmar (Original post)

Wed Jul 24, 2013, 11:29 PM

Jul 2013

Only bright side is, only 24 teabaggers were in attendance.

arely staircase

(12,482 posts)

5. the money quote

Reply to marmar (Original post)

Wed Jul 24, 2013, 11:31 PM

Jul 2013

"an awful lot of made-up criticism about, for instance, the founders intruding on the Indians or having slaves or being hypocrites in one way or another."

octoberlib

(14,971 posts)

6. Slavery just doesn't go well with bringing "liberty" into the world.

Reply to marmar (Original post)

Wed Jul 24, 2013, 11:31 PM

Jul 2013

The Tea Party has forever ruined the words liberty, freedom and patriot for me.

nadinbrzezinski

(154,021 posts)

7. You mean....white wash history even more than it already is

Reply to marmar (Original post)

Wed Jul 24, 2013, 11:32 PM

Jul 2013

exboyfil

(17,863 posts)

8. Anybody care to ask how

Reply to marmar (Original post)

Thu Jul 25, 2013, 03:24 AM

Jul 2013

Mitch Daniels feels about this legislation? Crap like this is exactly why Zinn's book is necessary.

liberal_at_heart

(12,081 posts)

9. I apologize for the caps but WHY ARE WE ALLOWING THEM TO DESTROY OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM?

Reply to marmar (Original post)

Thu Jul 25, 2013, 03:29 AM

Jul 2013

Repeal Race to the Top. Stop funneling money away from public schools into billionaire sponsored charters. Stop allowing republicans to rewrite our textbooks, and fully fund our public school system. Democratic politicans, you want my vote. Work for us, not for the billionaires. Work for our children, not for the billionaires. Work for us!

sakabatou

(42,159 posts)

10. Re-writing history with a racist spin

Reply to marmar (Original post)

Thu Jul 25, 2013, 03:45 AM

Jul 2013

CaliforniaPeggy

(149,641 posts)

11. Kickin' for the truth!

Reply to marmar (Original post)

Thu Jul 25, 2013, 01:32 PM

Jul 2013

liberal_at_heart

(12,081 posts)

12. K&R

Reply to marmar (Original post)

Thu Jul 25, 2013, 06:18 PM

Jul 2013

For those who ask why some of us here are so critical of Obama and democrats, this is why. Because instead of fighting for our children, instead of fighting for our people, they just let the republicans destroy everything we hold dear. They stand by and do nothing, and sometimes like with Race to the Top they even agree with the republicans.

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